September Update

The last month has been a great month for Medard’s House. Last year Medard’s House acquired an old church building. This allowed Medard’s House to expand our outreach, but the facility did not quite meet our needs. In July and August, Faith Community Church, helped to significantly change the look of our building. Many hours were invested in cleaning, painting, building a wall, helping with tables, and another organization even provided a basketball court for us. During the first week of school we had a welcome week where students came in and we played some sports games, had Rita’s Italian Ice, Little Caesars Pizza, and played slip n’ slide kickball! Official programming started on September 4th and we have been going every Monday and Tuesday since then for our after school program. We have had 30 kids attend a total of 94 times in the last month. As students talk to their friends more and more kids are coming. We have gone through a bunch of snacks, drinks, spent time playing Fortnite, kickball, basketball, and one-ball dodge ball. Students have also had the chance to earn points for their attendance, behavior, and school work. Some of the students have earned more than 40 points in the first month! On Thursday nights we have our Thursday Night Elevate which is a more intentional time of studying the Bible. We play some fun group games, like The Grog, and have had some great discussion.

As the Program Director it has been fun to watch the students open up and have fun. When we first started there was one girl who would come and then sit by herself and just stare at her phone the enter time. Just yesterday she engaged with two adult volunteers, played Giant Jenga, and helped pick vegetables. Not only did she do activities with others, but she smiled and laughed and talked to individuals. There are multiple examples of this as students have warmed up and started to form community here. As Medard’s House is a place for all people, we unfortunately see students that might not have the most normal life for a teenager. These students, have found a place where they can come and have fun without the worry of getting in trouble. They have also started to open up to certain adult volunteers whom they have allowed to speak into their life.

As the next month comes to a close we have many more stories to share to show you how Medard’s House is making a difference in the life of middle school and high school students on the West Shore. If you would like to contribute to our mission of making a difference in your child’s life as well as in the life of many other students please feel free to give a tax-deductible donation at www.medardshouse.org/donate.